


Winter Roses

by TheCrowMaiden



Category: Fate/Apocrypha
Genre: Gen, May turn into a series of Apocrypha one shots if I get around to writing them, Tagged as Gen but you can take it romantically if you want!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-29 00:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13915413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCrowMaiden/pseuds/TheCrowMaiden
Summary: A snowstorm has everyone in the Black Faction cooped up, and some are taking it better than others. Berserker is taking it really well, but Caules thinks she's pining over something and ends up buying her a gift.





	Winter Roses

It occurred to Caules—not for the first time—that Berserker was remarkably well tempered for a Servant under _Mad Enchancement._

She was sitting on his bed, legs drawn up under her voluminous tea-length skirt, staring quietly out the window at the falling snow. The heavy flakes that didn’t cling to the glass drifted down and added to the thick layer already covering the castle grounds. Everyone had been driven indoors by the unseasonable weather; even Astolfo had lost interest in the novelty of it after a couple days.

Unlike Astolfo though, Berserker had submitted to being stuck inside without complaint. Caules and his sister had endeavoured to keep a close eye on the Servant to gauge her mood, but she never showed even a hint of being upset by her confinement to Millennia. Not even as the days stretched into weeks.

Three weeks cooped up was too much for a mediocre Magus, though. Caules stretched and pushed his glasses up, rubbing his eyes. If he were Roche or even Fiore he’d have a project to occupy him to the point that time had no meaning. But he didn’t, and he was bored. Berserker’s eyes flicked over to him when he sighed, and he smiled at her.

As she watched closely, he pressed the power button on the computer and leaned aside so she could see the screen go black. It had taken a while for him to figure out why she kept unplugging it, but once he realized her concerns he made sure she could see it was turned off before he left. When the computer finally stopped humming with residual static he got up, and went to his closet.

“I’m going out. Did you want to come?” He asked her, putting a dark coat over his uniform.

To his surprise Berserker shook her head, and turned back to the window. There was something almost wistful about her gaze, but Caules couldn’t think of the cause and he shrugged. He certainly didn’t want to disturb her tranquillity.

“Alright. I’ll see you when I get back.”

She didn’t turn as he went out the door, and Caules puzzled briefly over it again as he walked down the main staircase. Perhaps she didn’t like getting wet or freezing was bothersome to her artificial body? Weather didn’t usually bother Servants, especially a Berserker. He couldn’t recall anything on the blueprints that would explain it, or anything from her legend…

“Gah!”

Blushing, Caules avoided the amused looks of the nearby Homunculi who had seen him nearly walk _into_ the door rather than through it. Ears burning, he tried to shoulder his way through the gates. But with the build up of snow on the other side he struggled to even get them open wide enough to slip through. Luckily he made it before anyone came over to help him, and with his face bright red from both embarrassment and exertion he walked briskly to where the golems were kept. He needed to wait until he got into town before he did any more thinking, or he might not get there at all. 

***

As it turned out, Trifas was less affected by the weather than Caules had anticipated. The roads were cleared enough to walk and there were shoppers carrying bags around even as their breath misted in front of their faces. He’d had to scramble to hide the golem he’d ridden in on when a young couple had gone by within a few feet of it, laughing as they hiked through the quarter metre of snow. The townspeople were far more prepared and proactive than their Magus neighbours, and Caules was somewhat mortified that he thought getting there would be such a grand endeavour.

Stepping aside to let a family pass him on the main street, Caules bumped into a folding sign. It fell to the ground with a soft _whump_ and a small flurry. He crouched to pick it back up hurriedly, wiping off the bright lettering and knocking the excess snow from its frame. No irate shopkeeper came out to scold him though, and Caules settled the sign back where it was with relief.

The colourful flowers on the chalkboard stood out against the backdrop of white.

Without thinking, Caules pushed open the door to the shop. The weather had made its mark even there, the flower selection being mostly potted plants rather than bouquets. One of the pots drew his attention, the soft pink flowers drooping lazily on the ends of thick stems. They looked a little waxy, and he couldn’t resist gently touching them.

“Interested in the winter roses?” The woman behind the counter looked to be Gordes age, although she carried her years with grace. “They’re a good choice for this time of year.”

“Roses?” Caules looked at the five petals on each bloom, and back at the woman.

“Most people call them winter or Christmas roses.” She gestured at the window, and smiled. “They’re actually called hellebore. Since they flower even in this, they’ve been popular lately. There’s nothing else out there.”

“You’re right, there isn’t.” Caules frowned, and an image of Berserker staring out the window flashed through his mind as he reached for his wallet. “Excuse me, ma’am…?” 

***

Red-nosed and eyes watering, Caules smiled nonetheless as he stumbled back into his room. Water pooled around his boots, and he sneezed several times in succession. Wiping at his face with his coat, he tried to put his bag down without tipping it or himself over. His sleeve was so damp that he might as well have stuck his face in a snow bank though, and he sighed.

A soft, dark material dropped over his head, covering it completely. His sharp inhale was muffled and his glasses knocked askew as the cloth was rubbed roughly over his face and hair, drying him off like he was an unruly pet. He screwed his eyes shut and bore it in silence, blinking when the makeshift towel was finally pulled free and he was able to settle his glasses back in place. Caules knew his hair had to be standing up in tufts, but he stopped midway through finger-combing it back into order when he looked up into the face of Berserker.

Her veil was in her hands, obviously having been what she’d used to rub him down. The silk fabric was frayed, splotched with water spots, and if it wasn’t a Servant’s garb it would be irreparable. But she didn’t notice, or didn’t care.

She looked pleased.

After along pause in which he stared at her half-smile with one of his own, Caules remembered the bag in his hands and cleared his throat. He set his purchases down on the chair and unpacked them carefully. With his back to her blocking her view, he lined them up on the windowsill.

“Thank you, Berserker. I…I brought you something.” Caules took one last fortifying breath, and stepped back to reveal the row of hellebores.

He had picked mostly pink ones, with a couple white ones mixed in. They were to match her hair and dress, but he doubted she knew that. In fact, he doubted whether she would understand the gift at all. He’d thought he’d solved the reason she looked out at the snow so wistfully, when he was standing in the flower shop, and had bought as many of the potted flowers as he could carry. But looking at them now, and looking at Berserker, he couldn’t help but fear he’d gotten it wrong, and had failed to communicate with her once again.

“Mm!”

Caules gave a start, and stared at the flower held under his nose. One hand wrapped protectively around a pot and the other reaching out, Berserker offered him the fullest white bloom from the row of plants in front of her.

She looked _very_ pleased.

And that was all Caules needed to be pleased too.

**Author's Note:**

> So this may turn into a series of platonic one shots about Fate/Apocrypha, all set in a nice AU where everyone is alive and happy. Depending how long the other one shots run (if I get to writing them) I may just make all separate posts for each. We'll see. This wasn't the one I planned to write first, but it's the one that happened!
> 
> If you have any opinions regarding the multiple chapters vs multiple separate fics question, please let me know!


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